Republican Calls His Democratic Mayoral Opponent a 'Political Hack'; New Poll Shows Democrat With Huge Lead

Republican mayoral nominee
Joe Lhota
ratcheted up his attacks on Democratic opponent Bill de Blasio Thursday, calling him a "political hack" who "talks in great platitudes" but doesn't have the "skills or ability" to run New York City.

The comments came on a day when a new poll showed Mr. de Blasio ahead by 50 percentage points. The survey from the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute showed Mr. de Blasio, the city's public advocate, beating Mr. Lhota, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and a former deputy mayor in Rudy Giuliani's administration, 71% to 21% among likely voters.

Mr. de Blasio widened his already commanding lead since a poll last month showed him besting Mr. Lhota by 66% to 25%.

ENLARGE

Republican mayoral hopeful Joe Lhota on Sept. 16
Associated Press

In a series of appearances on Thursday, Mr. Lhota questioned Mr. de Blasio's experience and lambasted his signature proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for prekindergarten and after-school programs.

Mr. de Blasio's campaign declined to respond to Mr. Lhota's criticism, but the public advocate described his standing in the polls as a mandate for his agenda.

"I'll be the only one in this race who's prepared on Day One," Mr. Lhota said in a television interview on Fox's local affiliate. "Bill has never managed anything. He's never had a job in his life that wasn't a government job or a not-for-profit job. He doesn't have the wherewithal to be the next mayor."

Later in the day, Mr. Lhota said Mr. de Blasio's policy platform will do nothing to create jobs. He said Mr. de Blasio suffers from "management immaturity," calling his plan to raise taxes to pay for pre-K as dead on arrival in Albany.

"When asked what his Plan B is, Bill de Blasio says there is no Plan B," Mr. Lhota said, referring to Mr. de Blasio's tax proposal. "Bill de Blasio is essentially a political hack with no plans for the future."

Mr. de Blasio said on Thursday he remained confident he would be able to persuade Albany to sign off on his proposed tax hike. "I think ultimately everyone in Albany will understand that the people of New York City are demanding this kind of approach, and that's what will win the day," he said.

Mr. de Blasio said his Republican rival is accountable for his party's "core philosophy" and "what that party is now doing," a reference to the federal government shutdown. Mr. Lhota said he opposes the shutdown.

Mr. de Blasio said he believes he is doing well in the polls because his campaign's focus on income inequality is resonating.

Messrs. Lhota and de Blasio launched their first TV ads of the general-election campaign this week. Mr. Lhota said he is hoping to pick up support after facing Mr. de Blasio in three scheduled debates later this month; meanwhile, he accused Mr. de Blasio of ducking tough questions on the campaign trail.

But a 50-percentage-point gap is difficult to close in such a short period and with limited money. Messrs. Lhota and de Blasio have agreed to participate in the city's campaign finance program, which means they can each spend a maximum of $6.4 million.

According to Quinnipiac's poll, white voters support Mr. de Blasio 55% to 40%, while black voters back him 90% to 6% and Latino voters favor him 79% to 10%. Female voters support Mr. de Blasio, 75% to 17%, and male voters back him, 67% to 25%.

Adolfo Carrion, a former Bronx borough president who is running on the Independence Party line, polled at 2%. The poll of 1,198 likely voters was taken from Sept. 25 to Tuesday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

neither one of these guys are good. I say keep Bloomberg in office until the right person comes along. I walk the city streets everyday and all I see are New Yorkers, I see no whites, no blacks, no gays no straights just everyday New Yorkers. This race was putting the categories mentioned above against each other and it is something we should not allow.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.